India's top cement producers delivered a solid July-September quarter (Q2) in 2025-26 (FY26), lifted by firmer prices, higher sales volumes, and a favourable base. Seasonal weakness and maintenance outages did dent sequential performance, but the overall picture remained positive - and the road ahead looks steady.
'When there is such an elaborate and a strong process, one would have expected anyone to either place the issues so that they can be addressed or go to the regulator and probably tell them rather than creating a kind of uncertainty for the stakeholders.
Tata Steel on Wednesday reported a 272 per cent year-on-year (Y-o-Y) jump in consolidated net profit, attributable to owners, at Rs 3,101.75 crore in the second quarter of 2025-26 (Q2FY26) led by higher sales volumes in India and planned cost takeouts across geographies.
There is positive sentiment for Tata Steel on the basis of strong domestic demand, a turnaround of European operations and moderate valuations. A combination of capacity expansion, efficiency gains, higher asset utilisation, and improved operating leverage may lead to margin expansions.
FMCG major Hindustan Unilever Ltd (HUL) on Thursday reported a two-fold jump in consolidated net profit to Rs 6,603 crore in the December quarter of FY'26, on a year-on-year basis, driven by a one-off positive impact from the demerger of its ice cream business.
Wipro on Wednesday reported a 25.9 per cent year-on-year rise in consolidated net profit for the March quarter to Rs 3,569.6 crore, but warned of a weak quarter ahead with up to 3.5 per cent expected drop in IT services revenue for Q1FY26, amid global uncertainties. CEO and Managing Director Srini Pallia said clients remain cautious in the face of macroeconomic uncertainty.
India offset the decline in exports to traditional destinations by sharply ramping up shipments to Jordan (18,086 per cent), Hong Kong (17,006 per cent), Spain (13,436 per cent), the Philippines (2,235 per cent), and Namibia (1,068 per cent) in H1FY26.
The banking sector could see better loan growth in the third quarter of financial year 2026 (Q3FY26) with improved net interest margins (NIMs), though the full impact of latest rate cuts will be largely felt in the fourth quarter. There may be lower slippage in unsecured loans and microfinance institutions (MFIs) along with steady recovery trends, which should lower credit cost.
The Nifty 50 index could rise around 24 per cent from current levels to 32,032 by December 2026 in a bull-case scenario, Kotak Securities said in a recent note. "We value Nifty at a 10 per cent premium (at 22x) to the 10-year average price-to-earnings of 20x on 2027-28 estimated (E) earnings per share (EPS) of Rs 1,456, and arrive at a December 2026 Nifty target of 32,032," the analysts wrote.
India's electric two-wheeler (e2W) manufacturers have urged the government to extend subsidies under the PM E-Drive (Electric Drive Revolution in Innovative Vehicle Enhancement) scheme beyond March 2026, cautioning that a withdrawal could slow near-term demand even as confidence in long-term electric mobility adoption remains intact.
'Economic activity appears to have peaked in the second quarter of FY26, with industrial output, exports, and business confidence all softening from October 2025.'
Trent reported decent margins in the second quarter (July-September) of 2025-26 (Q2FY26) but growth moderated. Same store growth was low single-digits. Trent's revenue growth decelerated in Q2FY26 at 17 per cent year-on-year (Y-o-Y) while area additions were offset by decline in revenue per square foot (sq ft).
'LIC will reduce but not fully exit its stake in IDBI Bank, which remains an important bancassurance partner,' says LIC of India' MD and CEO R Doraiswamy.
After three consecutive months of heavy selling, foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) turned net buyers in the first week of February, infusing more than Rs 8,100 crore in Indian equities, aided by improving risk sentiment, along with a trade deal with the US.
The consumer price index (CPI)-based inflation hitting an all-time low in October would encourage the six-member monetary policy committee (MPC) of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to cut the policy repo rate in its upcoming December 3-5 meeting. However, the July-September GDP growth, expected to be above 7 per cent, may act as a deterrent.
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Friday delivered a 25 basis point (bps) repo rate cut analysts expected, driven by the strong 8.2 per cent GDP growth in the September quarter. However, analysts do not expect a runaway market rally as the impact of US tariffs continues.
The Ministry of Steel on Monday signed Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) with 55 companies for 85 projects under the third round of the Production-Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme for specialty steel.
It is after seven years that a sedan has claimed the top spot -- Dzire had last achieved the No.1 position in 2018.
'My concern is that, although everything is expressed in monetary terms, you are effectively combining values that have been adjusted using different price measures.'
Both the life and non-life insurance segment posted over 20 per cent premium growth in November for the first time in this financial year (FY26), supported by the reduction in goods and services tax (GST) on premiums from 18 per cent to zero and a favourable base effect.
Godrej Consumer Products (GCPL) had a disappointing third quarter (Q3FY25) with flat volumes (after 7 per cent growth H1FY25). Price hikes will be required to maintain margins to offset the cost of palm oil inflation. However, some analysts see Q3 as an exception with strong volume growth expected to resume and it may be the fastest growing FMCG player in FY26.
The government bond yield curve is likely to flatten in the financial year 2027 (FY27) as the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is expected to ease supply pressure in the ultra-long segment. In FY26 so far, reduced investments by insurance companies and pension funds pushed up yields on ultra-long tenor securities, steepening the curve.
Axis Bank reported a sharp drop in net profit in the second quarter of financial year 2026 (Q2FY26) on higher provisions and weak operating profit growth while revenue growth was moderate. But loan growth and deposit growth improved to double-digits year-on-year (Y-o-Y) and asset quality also improved with the gross non-performing loan or NPL ratio moving down.
Automobile exports from India rose 24 per cent in 2025 driven by robust demand for cars, two wheelers and commercial vehicles in the overseas markets, as per the latest SIAM data. Overall exports last year raced to 63,25,211 units as against 50,98,474 units in the 2024 calendar year, up 24.1 per cent.
India's industrial production grew at a two-year high of 6.7 per cent in November this year, driven by strong performances in mining and manufacturing, according to official data released on Monday.
Tata Motors' commercial-vehicle (CV) business reported a 48 per cent year-on-year decline in net profit to Rs 705 crore in Q3FY26, even as profit before tax (PBT) rose 65 per cent to Rs 2,568 crore.
Net direct tax collection grew about 8.82 per cent to over Rs 18.38 lakh crore in the current fiscal till January 11 due to slower refunds and better corporate tax mop-up.
FSN E-Commerce Ventures Ltd, the parent company of beauty retailer Nykaa, recorded a 3.4x growth in net profit at ~34.43 crore in the second quarter of FY26, up from ~10.04 crore in the corresponding period last year.
From the 30-Sensex firms, Bharat Electronics surged nearly 9 per cent post its December quarter earnings. Eternal, Bajaj Finance, Power Grid, Trent, Mahindra & Mahindra and UltraTech Cement were the other major gainers. Maruti, Sun Pharma, Infosys and Bharti Airtel were among the other laggards.
Brokerages expect the company to continue outperforming in the auto segment, driven by launches and the strong trajectory of healthy bookings.
The July-September quarter (Q2) performance of consumer electricals and durables major Havells India in 2025-26 (FY26) was broadly in line with Street estimates. While the top line was supported by robust growth in the wire and cable, switchgear, and lighting segments, the consumer durables segment restricted overall gains.
The power sector presents a puzzle. A fast-growing economy should be aligned to higher power demand but that hasn't been the case in the financial year 2026 till date (FY26TD).
'Rate cut looks unlikely and there is reason to believe that the cycle is over.'
The Reserve Bank on Wednesday lowered the inflation projection for the current fiscal to 4 per cent from 4.2 per cent earlier, taking into account good agricultural output and falling crude prices.
The stock of automative major Eicher Motors hit its all-time high on Wednesday, capping the year with gains of about 52.7 per cent. It has comfortably outperformed its sector index, the Nifty Auto, which jumped 22.7 per cent, as well as the benchmark Nifty, which rose 10 per cent during this period.
Led by the country's biggest lender State Bank of India (SBI), public sector banks logged a record cumulative profit of Rs 52,603 crore in the third quarter of the current fiscal, reflecting an 18 per cent year-on-year growth.
The gold loan portfolio across the system has nearly doubled to Rs 15.6 lakh crore in two years to November 2025, as a spike in prices of the precious commodity encouraged lenders to increase their exposures to the safer segment, a report said on Wednesday.
The consolidated net profit of Marico, the maker of Parachute coconut oil, declined 0.7 per cent in the second quarter (July-September) of 2025-26 (Q2FY26).
Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) have stepped into the spotlight this quarter. With evolving market conditions and shifting investor sentiment, ETFs offer a timely solution for accessing growth with liquidity and efficiency. In this article, we break down the most important ETF trends, performance drivers, and what to watch in the months ahead.
Capital investment by the private sector is likely to rise 21.5 per cent to Rs 2.67 lakh crore in 2025-26 aided by robust macroeconomic fundamentals, and a 100-bps policy rate cut, according to an RBI article. Despite global uncertainties, Indian firms entered the 2025-26 fiscal year with healthier balance sheets, higher cash buffer, improved profitability, and greater access to diversified funding sources, said the article 'Private Corporate Investment: Growth in 2024-25 and Outlook for 2025-26' published in the Reserve Bank of India's (RBI's) August bulletin.
